Chris Now A Category 2 Hurricane

The 2018 Hurricane Season is barely six weeks old and there have already been three tropical systems that have earned a name. The latest of those storms is also the season's first category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Hurricane Chris was a strong tropical storm churning about 200 miles off of Cape Hatteras North Carolina about 24 hours ago. As of the early morning advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the storm had evolved into a cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour.

Forecasters believe that Chris could get a little stronger over the next 24 to 36 hours, however, after that time frame, the system should begin to weaken as it moves further out into the Atlantic.

Following in what could be a similar path to Hurricane Chris are the remnants of Beryl. Beryl was the season's first hurricane but weakened as it crossed into the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic last week. Now, forecasters are giving those remnants a 50% chance of reforming into a tropical cyclone by the end of the week.

The good news in all of this is that forecast track models keep both systems well off the eastern seaboard of the United States. Therefore interaction with land other than higher than normal surf along the Carolina coast is not likely.